Carl MacDougall, President of Scottish PEN, and Lisa Clark, Project Manager, have signed a letter from Open Democracy, calling for investigation and greater transparency around the UK Government’s handling of Freedom of Information requests, in response to concerns around ‘blacklisting’ and threats to press freedom.

Join us at this free online event on Tuesday 23rd February (3.00pm), as part of Paisley Book Festival. Featuring readings by Leela Soma, Harry Josephine Giles, Ruth Aylett, Dr Mario Relich and Dave Manderson and hosted by Scottish PEN.

Harassment of poet Jenny Lindsay raises questions about the impact of online spaces on freedom for all writers. Jenny Lindsay is an award-winning spoken-word poet, writer and performer. Since June 2019, she has been subjected to sustained online smearing and harassment, which has resulted in a loss of work and other offline consequences, including advice […]

If you haven’t already guessed by the title, the P stands for period. So if the very concept of a period leaves you feeling uneasy, put off or disgusted, then this blog is most definitely for you. ‘Did she just say the P-word?’ My first period arrived one beautiful summer day. The summer before I […]

Scottish PEN notes with great concern that WikiLeaks founder and publisher Julian Assange was refused bail in relation to ongoing attempts of the government of the United States that he be extradited to face espionage and hacking charges.

The 2021 Naomi Mitchison Lecture will focus on issues of women’s rights. Led by Scottish PEN’s Women’s Writers Committee, and featuring guest writer Jenny Lindsay.

During Black History Month, we partnered with Scottish BAME Writers Network to launch the Scottish Black Writers Group. The next meeting of the group is set for Thursday 18th February and features writer Nandi Jola.

During Black History Month, we partnered with Scottish BAME Writers Network to launch the Scottish Black Writers Group. The next meeting of the group is set for Thursday 21st January and features writer Alex Wheatle.